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Many at-home working parents shy away from customer service jobs because they typically require speaking with customers on the phone. This can be difficult with young children and even pets at home. A quiet background is almost always a requirement for phone-based jobs.
However, there is one avenue of online jobs that don’t necessarily require a quiet home office – chat customer service jobs.
What Do Chat Customer Service Representatives Do?
You have likely visited a website or two, especially those in the eCommerce industry, that has a little box down in the corner where you can type in questions. A live chat agent is often the person behind the box answering your questions in real-time or getting back to you by email within regular business hours.
Online chat job positions typically require great communication and customer service skills, excellent grammar, and above-average typing speed and accuracy. While there are some jobs out there that are chat-only, many companies also require availability to answer customer queries by email and phone. Frequently you will be handling multiple chats at a time. You will need to be able to keep your cool under pressure while providing the utmost customer experience.
As is typically the case with a remote job in the customer service industry, these positions often come with a set schedule. While there may be some flexibility in scheduling hours, you will likely be required to work a certain number of hours or shifts per week.
How Much Do Chat Customer Service Jobs Pay?
Because this type of online job is in such high demand by job seekers and can be an entry-level job, they tend to pay less than phone-based jobs. You are looking at around $9 to $15 per hour for this type of customer service salary in most cases.
What Companies Hire Chat Customer Service Agents?
Many reputable companies offer customer service chat jobs. Some of these will be independent contractor positions which may provide a little more flexibility in the schedule in exchange for the burden of handling the tax requirements. Others may be employee positions that even offer benefits with a full-time schedule.
The Chat Shop
The Chat Shop has penned themselves as “the live chat experts.” Based in the UK, they contract chat agents in the US and UK. Though they hire customer service representatives in the US, they only hire those living in Georgia, Texas, Florida, and Tennessee at this time.
To be considered, you will need to be a native English speaker. Your typing speed should be at least 65 words per minute with 97% accuracy. The pay rate is currently around $10 per hour.
Apple At-Home Advisors
Apple At-Home Advisors provide technical support to Apple customers. This position typically requires answering questions by phone, chat, and email.
This company is one of the few that provides the equipment necessary to perform the job – an iMac and headset. They also reimburse for internet service. These are employee chat agent positions.
ModSquad
ModSquad offers a variety of remote jobs at any given time. These job openings are typically in line with online community moderation in the social media, gaming, and technology industries. Still, there is often a customer service aspect to the job as well.
ModSquad offers a flexible schedule and benefits to full-time employees.
Arise
Arise is a customer service outsourcing company with a twist. They only hire independent business owners or IBOs. You will need to do all of the legal business filings and setup before being accepted. In addition to the costs associated with setting up a business entity, you will also need to pay for certification courses for the clients you want to contract.
This may sound like a scam – you have been told not to pay for a job, after all – but Arise is legit. Whether this will be a lucrative opportunity will depend on your circumstances and your long-term work-at-home goals.
Blackboard
Blackboard is a global leader in the online education field. They have served over 150 million users around the world.
Most recently, Blackboard was looking for Live Chat Technical Customer Success Advisors. These remote jobs handle both tech chat support and customer service. The minimum typing speed for this job is 50 WPM. There are some state restrictions. Check their careers website for the most up-to-date information.
Alorica
Alorica is a large company offering outsourced customer support to many clients. They have over 50,000 employees worldwide.
A variety of positions are available at any given time. Most will be phone-based, but you may find the occasional chat position. These openings will vary in pay and requirements. Most offer an average hourly pay of around $15 per hour.
Sitel
Sitel is another large outsourcing company. They help companies handle their customer service across various industries, from medical to travel and retail to insurance. Their growth continues in 2021 as they will acquire another trusted work-at-home company, Sykes.
Again, many of these employee customer service jobs will be phone-based. Keep an eye on their website for openings of interest.
VIPdesk
VIPdesk is a well-known company in the remote work industry. They offer outsourced customer support to some iconic brands such as Owlet and CHANEL.
Positions are often a mix of phone, email, and chat support. You can sign up to receive job alerts on their website.
Discover Financial Services
You are likely familiar with Discover’s line of services. To keep up with the increasing demand of the customer base, they also outsource customer support to remote representatives.
This customer service job is a high-touch, fast-paced position which will expect you to service 100+ customers per day. As you would imagine, this is a back-to-back service inquiry environment. Agents handle the lines by phone, email, and chat.
Most recent job openings offered a competitive starting wage of around $16 per hour plus shift differentials. As an employee position, there are additional perks available to remote employees as well.
AT&T
AT&T also has an increasing number of online job opportunities. These customer service representative jobs are best fit for tech-savvy individuals who work well under pressure. These positions are location-specific, so check the website for the current lineup of accepted states.
This list of chat agent jobs is just the tip of the iceberg. You can find more opportunities by exploring online job boards like Indeed or FlexJobs. As this type of job is highly sought after, like data entry jobs, it can be a target for scammers. Always be on the lookout for red flags.
